1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to water delivery appliances such as hand-held or fixed showers for shower baths and wash basins as well as faucets for domestic sinks and bath tubs. More particularly, the present invention relates to water delivery appliances of the class mentioned having a micromotor-operated rotatable shower or water delivery head capable of delivering water in selected one of different discharge modes or patterns.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In applications of shower baths and wash basins, it has been customary to use a variety of shower head configurations depending on the intended purposes. For example, it is often desirable that water be delivered in the form of an aerated antisplash spray when women's hairs are to be rinsed at wash basins and shower baths, whereas a normal diverging spray pattern is preferable for washing human bodies in shower bath facilities. Also, shower heads adapted to deliver pulsated or converged water jet have been used to provide massaging effect.
Similarly, various faucet spout designs have been developed for use with domestic sinks and bath tubs to provide a variety of water delivery modes or patterns. A faucet fitting designed for anti-splash aerated flow is desirable when dishes and the like are washed and rinsed. In certain occasions, such as filling the wash basin or bath tub as quickly as possible, a non-restricted laminar flow is convenient to supply water at a higher flow rate.
Typically, the conventional way of changing the spray pattern of shower bath installations is to disconnect the existing hand-held shower from a shower hose and replace it with another one having different spray characteristics. This is costly because provision for a plurality of different showers is necessitated. In addition, storage and replacement of various showers are cumbersome.
Hand-held showers and faucets having a dual spray or water delivery head have been known in the art. For example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 2-29669/1990 discloses a faucet fitting for residential sinks having two water outlets located in a side-by-side relationship and having different water delivery patterns. A diverter valve operated by a manual knob is provided to selectively communicate water source with either of the two outlets. While this dual outlet arrangement offsets requirement for the storage and replacement of different fittings, manual operation of the diverter valve is still cumbersome and time consuming, because the knob must be rotated for a number of turns.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,432 and Japanese Utility Model Kokai Publication No. 55-6044/1980 disclose a hand-held shower having a shower head mounted rotatably on a water supply pipe. The rotatable shower head is provided with a plurality of sprayer heads having distinct jet properties. The arrangement is such that, by turning the rotatable shower head, one of the sprayer heads is selectively communicated with the water supply pipe.
While the rotatable shower head structure described above advantageously provides a diversity of spray properties without replacing the shower head, one of the disadvantages is that change-over of spray properties can often be carried out only with difficulties. For example, the shower head is often wetted by soap and shampoo so that the surface thereof is often quite slippery. Therefore, a relatively large gripping force must be exerted by the user's hands in order to successfully rotate the shower head. Another inconvenience is that the change-over cannot be carried out by a single hand. That is, in order to change the spray properties, the user must first hold the water supply pipe by one hand and then grip the rotatable shower head by the other hand to cause it rotated. Such procedures necessitating manipulation by both hands are often cumbersome because, in the first place, use of shower must be interrupted at least for several seconds. In the second place, prior to manipulation the user must first put a sponge or brush aside if it is in use.